Oil-burning furnace



June' a 1926. H 1,588,270

H. J. G. RUDOLF OIL BURNING FURNACE Filed June 14, 1925 Qua L \wvamoamags Patented June 8, 1926:

UNITED STATES PATENT OF E,

HENRY J'. G. nunonrgor NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0, VALVELESS OIL,runner:

CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION ornnw YORK. I

OIL-BURNING summon.

Application filed June 14, 1923. Serial- No. 645,418.

The present invention relates to means for generatingheat by combustionof oil fuel, and has for its main objects to secure the most completeand most efficient possible combustion of the fuel, to prevent andeliminate deposition vof carbon of any sort, whether the hardandrefractory variety or the soft and sooty kinds, or any others; and tocarry on the combustion with the minimum of noise.

The invention consists in the. means which I have devised and usedsuccessfully and satisfactorily to accomplish these objects and in allequivalents thereof which embody the same principles. I will now explainthe principles and fundamental characteristics of the invention inconnection with a specific embodiment thereof which I have designed andused with a domestic steam heating boiler.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a sectional view showing in an illustrative manner theessential characteristics of the species of the invention abovereferredto as applied to such a boiler.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the furnace on a larger scale.

Figure 3 is a perspective viewof that portion of the furnace which Ihave called the combustion pot]? e Likereference characters designatethe same parts wherever they occur in all the figures. s a

In these drawings I have not attempted to show all the structuraldetails which may be desirable or necessary in commercial practice forcombining the furnace with its com bustion pot and boiler, as suchdetails do not affect the actualinvention and are within the scope ofthe expedients known to those acquainted with the art and available forall ractical purposes. Vhat .I have aimed to o by these drawings and thefollowing description, is to explain the principles and essentialcharacteristics of the invention in such a full and exact manner thatthose skilled in the art may apply such principles, possibly in manyspecifically diverse forms, to the conditions of various particularproblems.

With this explanation it will be understood thatlOrepresents in aconventional manner-a typical firev pot or furnace, and

that 11 typifies any steam boiler or water heater, or other thing whichit is desired to heat by the combustion of fuel. 1 While theillustration may represent the boiler of a domestic heating plant, inprinciple it typifies anything which may be heated, 12 represents thefront wall ofthe furnace'and 13 represents the burner which comprisesessentially an external tubefor air and an internal tube or nozzle 14 towhich oil is delivered; IIere again'the showing is illus-' trative andtypical, and the burner soshown may typify any atomizing "or sprayingmeans which is adapted to furnish a mixture of finely divided liquidfuel, and air to support combustion. It is not vital to the inven-' tionhere claimed that the air supply should ,be delivered so as to surroundand enevelop the fuel; for other or reverse arrangements of air and fuelare possible. 'VVhat is important from the present standpoint is thatthe fuel and air are delivered together into the furnace, or fuel is sodelivered in a more or less finely divided condition, and'the air isdelivered under such pressure that it issues from the burner with aconsiderable velocity. As'oil is the fuel which this furnace isparticularly intended to burn, I will from now'on refer to the fuel asoil; and within the meaning of this term I include crude petroleum,kerosene, so -called furnace oil, fuel oil, and anyother mineral, animalor vegetable oils whichmay be burnedjwith the aid of this apparatus.

The burner opens into a structure 15 which projects into the furnaceenclosure from the front wall 12 and which, for convenience ofdescription, I calla combustion pot, notmeaning to imply by the use ingor passage through which the'fburner extends, in order to exclude excessair, since it is intended that the quantity of air supplied through theburner itself shall be enough to effect complete combustion of the fuel.-Modifioation in this re's'pect, however,

is possible and I may, in some instances, provide openings, with orwithout controllingdampers, external to the burner in such front wall. j

The burner is directed upwardly toward the roof or top wall 16 of thecombustion pot at such an angle and from such a location in the forwardend of the combustion pot, that the oil issuing from the oil nozzlethereof is thrown against said top wall, and the air issuing from theburner is also caused to impinge upon and flow over such top wall towardthe rear.

This combustion pot is preferably made of material having considerableheat-conducting capacity, as metal. It is conveniently made of castiron, though other materials and modes of construction may be employed.The top wall in particular is made thin enough. and with such capacityfor conducting away heat that it will not be excessively heated by theimpinging flame and preferably not above the temperature of dull redheat. Radiating ribs 19 may be provided, if necessary, on the outside ofthe top wall to' assist in more rapidly dissipating the heat imparted bythe flame. Wide variations in the form and dimensions of this topwallare possible according to the particular conditions of use, the quantityof oil and air supplied, the pressure of the air supplied, etc, it beingimportant to cause the oil delivered from the burner and not yet ignitedto be spread over the top wall and swept from the same by the aircurrent, and at the same time to be heated by the flame, but not to beheated to so high a temperature as will cause cracking of the oil'wlthdeposition of hard carbon.

-It is knownthat formation anddeposition of hard carbon in oil furnacesis due to cracking of the oil by intense heat before combustion hastaken place; and I have discovered that by causing the oil to impinge ona heated surface, the temperature of which is kept below the degree atwhich oil will be so decomposed as to liberate solid carbon, I am ableto effect not only heating of the oil, but also to divide it into smallparticles and cause thorough mingling with air as well as to prevent itfrom reaching the rear wall of the furnace in the form of large drops.

The side walls 17 of the combustion pot perform the useful .function ofconfining the burning mixture within the limits of the top wall until itleaves the rear edge of the latter, and thus of preventing escapelaterally of large drops of oil, which might lodge on the side walls ofthe furnace or fall to the floor before being wholly consumed. I Thebottom wall 18 of the combustion pot confines the fuel mixture at itsentrance into the furnace andduring the initial stages of combustion,but the short extent of this wall and the open formation of thecombustion pot at the bottom in rear of the wall allows the air andproducts of combustion to expand freely and gradually as their tempera--ture rises, thus avoiding the noise which is due to sudden expansion ofhot gas under pressure due to heat generation while in confinement.

At a considerable distance toward the rear of the furnace, the exactdistance being a matter determined by the amount of fuel being burnedand the pressure at streaming flames and direct them upward-v 1y; whilethat of the sand is to receive, absorb and evaporate any particlesofburning oil which may travel so far before being consumed. 'I/Vhenunburned oil impinges on a solid wall, arranged in the manner of abaflie or bridge wall, in a furnace, deposition of light fluffy carbonor soot occurs, this being due to the formation at thatpoint of a gaspocket which prevents access of enough air to complete the combustion ofoil or to burn off the carbon.

I have found that by providing sand in a position to catch all of the"unburned oil which is carried to the baffle, such oil is at once soakedup before it the condition of carbon, and that the heat of the flameevaporates the oil so absorbed. Such oil being thus converted into truevapor rises through and with the flame'u'ntil it is completely burned;The vapor so produced does not lodge on the baffle or leave deposits ofcarbon. Instead'of-sand I may use for the purpose last described anyother material which is sufficiently, absorptive and refractory toaccomplish results the same in kind. I Itwill now be understood that asoil and air are blown into the furnace, the oil is partially convertedinto spray by theaction of the air alone, but that most of the oilstrikes the top wall of the combustion pot and is there spread out intoa thin film. The air flowing over this wall sweeps the oil to the rearedge of the wall and there breaks it into spray. It is to be understoodthat after the fire is once lighted, combustion begins immediately afterthe oil leaves its nozzle, wherefore there is flame as well as unburnedoil and air in the combustion pot. The flame, of course, heats the roofof'the pot and causes much of the oil to be vapor iZed beforevit isswept from the rear of the'pot. i

Which air 1s supplied, I have arranged a baffle 20 ly burned alsowithout deposition of carbon.

Thus I have succeeded in burning oil with complete combustion, withoutdeposition of carbon, and without appreciable noise.

As many burners and combustion chambers may be provided in the samefurnace as desired. In Figure 2 I have shown tWo of them, and haveillustrated therein the combination in which one is smaller than theother and is usually maintained in constant operation so as to furnish aconstant mini- 1 mum of heat and serve as a pilot for igniting the otherburner or burners when provision is made for the full amount of heat.The reference characters used in Figure 2 designate the main burner andcombustion pot, while the same characters, modified by exponents,designate the pilot burner and its combustion pot. In addition to theparts already described, however, Ihave shown here a communicatingpassage 24 from one pot to the other for the purpose of transmittingflame from the pilot burner to light the main burner when oil is turnedon to the latter.

So far as the burner and the combustion pot here described areapplicable to burning liquid fuels other than those coming within thespecific definition of oils, I claim the same within the scope of thepresent invention, and without limitation to any specific use orenvironment, or in connection with any specific fuel.

What I claim and desire to secure by LettersPatent is:

' 1. In a furnace, a combustion pot and means for delivering liquid fueland air into the forward end thereof, said combustion pot having a topwall against which the inflowing fuel is caused to impinge and havingside Walls to limit the lateral dispersion of fuel and air and beingopen at the rear, and at the rear portion of its under side, to permitfree expansion of the hot products of combustion and heated air.

2. Ina furnace, the combination of a combustion pot having top and. sidewalls and a bottom wall which extends part way only of the distance fromfront to rear, said pot being open at its rear and at the rear portionof its bottom, with a burner having oil and air passages. entering thefront of the combustion pot and arranged to cause impingement of thedelivered oil and air against said top wall.

' 3. In a furnace, the combination of a combustion pot having top andside walls and a bottom wall which extends part way only ofthe distancefrom front to rear, said pot being open at its rear and at the rearportion of its bottom, with a burner having oil and air passagesentering the front of the combustion pot and arranged to causein'ipingen'ient of the delivered oil and air against said top wall, anda baflie located at the rear'of said combustion pot in po-,

sition to be impinged upon by the flame is suing from the latter andincluding a mass of absorptive refractory material adapted to absorbparticles of unburned oil in the flame.

signature.

In testimony whereof I have affixed-my

